After closing down shop on Christmas day, many places and services are back at work from Thursday and until the end of the year. Here's an overview of what's open and closed in Brussels through New Year's Eve.
Postal services will be running normally from Thursday, after halting activities on the 25th, in the image of banks, which according to financial federation Febelfin will reopen following regular hours on the 26th.
Several federal and regional administrative services which shut down on Wednesday will also stay closed through Thursday, with some shutting down through the weekend too.
At the municipal level, some services are back working from Thursday, such as the administration offices of Brussels 1000, Saint-Gilles or Ixelles, while public swimming pools in Brussels 1000 will reopen in time for the weekend from Friday.
Visitors and residents on end-of-year holidays will be able to visit several museums from the 26, including the Bozar centre for fine arts, which on Thursday will remain open until 9:00 PM.
The Royal Museums of Arts of Belgium, which includes the Magritte Museum, the Old Masters Museum, the Musée du Fin du Siècle and the Antoine Wiertz Museum, among others, are back open on the 26 too, and will remain open until the 31st, when they will be shutting their doors at 2:00 PM.
Several supermarkets across the city are back open from Thursday, such as a number of Carrefour, Delhaize and Colruyt shops, which will remain open following regular hours but will close down between 6:00 PM and 7:00 PM on 31 December.
Movie theatres, such as UGC or Kinepolis will be hosting functions on Thursday, and smaller or independent cinemas like Cinéma Galeries or Cinéma Aventure will also be open on the 26th, with the latter closing earlier on the 31st.
Residents and tourists alike can still take part in the many festivities organised as part of the Winter Wonders festivities, which will remain open uninterruptedly until 5 January.
Gabriela Galindo
The Brussels Times
